The Failed Plan to Save Venice 

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I am an engineer, I live in Venice and I do work on this project. The gates might have a lot of drawbacks, but at least they are not visible. The lagoon of Venice is practically a natural reserve, especially in the vicinity of the sea inlets: the gate project in the Rotterdam style was rejected exactly for this reason (and the inlet in Lido is almost 2 km wide, compared to the 0,4 km of the dutch project). The gates themselves are huge, they can easily withstand a tide of +3 m and need very little modification to go above this threshold. The main concerns lie with the environmental impact of their activation: firstly because they consume a lot of energy, secondly because they impact on the vital interaction of the lagoon with the Adriatic: in the worst case scenario, it is expected that by the end of the century, flooding above the 110 cm threshold will occur for 180 days per year, thus this problem needs to be carefully handled. For the concerns about the navigation and trade, an offshore port (with an underwater train connection) is being studied, an idea which could also remove all the container and cruise ships which are still allowed to enter the very shallow water of the lagoon.

Another reasons why MOSE is not operated more often is that Tides and floods are essential to keep the Lagoon ecosystem alive.

Honestly as a Venetian I have to say that the Mose works pretty well. The 110 cm threshold was chosen as at that level the flood only takes a small portion of the city. The real reason it won't be turned on more often is because Venice still is a sea city, and we can't stop the traffic more often. The cost is not really a problem, that figure you have shown was while in the early days, where the "electronic" stuff was not ready and there were few compressors, so a lot of people were needed to operate it. Now it's almost finished and the operating cost came down a lot. As far as San Mark Basilica is concerned that is an ancient building, and unfortunately built really low on the sea level, so a different system was needed to fill the gap between the basilica flood and the activation of the mose for the whole lagoon. In any case there was already a system that protected the crypt from the water, this new system was a more drastic choice but mainly for the salt creeping trough the bricks into the wall damaging the marble and the mosaics.

Am I the only one left thinking that the system is awful if you need 80 people and 2 days to turn it on? How did this ever get funded?

I love these videos when you do a follow-up to the projects that you guys covered and whether things went according to plan or not.

This video (partially) starts from the wrong premise that Venice is trying to block ALL high tides. Its objective is to block all EXCEPTIONAL high tides (over 120cm). St Mark Square is 80cm over the 0 level. So it is perfectly normal that St Mark and the lower points go underwater with below 120cm high tides. That said, due to subsidence and rising sea levels that will overcome Mose in 100 years or so, it is indeed correct that it is time again to raise the city level itself. I am confident Venice will win this new race for its survival, as it did all past ones 😉

It costs 0.004% of its build cost to operate. If it operated 100 times a year for 100 years it would only cost half its build cost over 100 years, it probably wont last 50. Not sure the operating cost is a real reason.

The system Is meant to stop the biggest floods, not all floods (which always happened). The system Is also meant to permit a recyirculation of water in the laguna. The big ships are the big problem of the city because of the waves created by them, if it can block them the better. Venice is an Italian city, not an other Disneyland.

09:40 This was an ideal setup for a pun around sunk cost fallacies

I remember my professor warning us about this project 3 years ago. He was actually one of the first people that got contacted to give feedback to this project, he shared this idea with some colleagues from Utrecht university and they came up with the idea to pump salt water back into the ground where previously fresh drinking water had been stored but depleted over the years. Haven’t heard from him since, but I have been told that he prefers working with Oman simply cuz there are less bureaucratic problem then in Venice.

So how exactly is that plan of raising the whole city up by 30-35 cm supposed to work? How would they do it while preventing damage considering it's already been used in other cities?

I don't know where the video made its research: the MOSE is working according to plan, engineers knew perfectly well that St Mark square (the lowest area of the city) would flood slightly even with MOSE operating, the new barrier on St Mark square was built to remedy that. All the big tides of the last year have been prevented by MOSE and even its detractors admit it is working. Where do you get your info?

I read somewhere a few years ago that the tourist ships were the worst destructed factor in Venise! One year not long time ago when there was drought and the ships could not go through, they could see the clear water and the fishes at the bottom!

What they are doing makes perfectly sense. When the tide is between 80 and 110 cm the only area of the city that is at risk of flood is St Marc square. That’s it. But if you raise the barrier too often the water in the lagoon does not get cleansed by the tide. And the lagoon would become a stinky swamp. Also,given the fact that the city wasn’t built with a sewer system. The canals are. So between 80 and 110 cm the glass barriers are the simp,e and perfect solution, and when is higher, then you need the Moses, and so the rest of the city is safe.

My plan; Step 1) Consult the Dutch. Step 2) Do as they say.

if NL can engineer a whole country below sea level, I'm sure Venice will figure it out eventually 🙄

I've been to Venice twice and it's such a magical city! I pray we find a long term solution FAST!

Man I hate those Masterwork sponsorships...

This is one of those situations where hindsight truly is 20/20. When the city was first built, people were not thinking about how large it could get. It isn't a great site for a large city at all. It certainly is novel and a beautiful place. No one can take that away from it. Eventually mother nature will win this battle..sadly.

Fascinating, sobering video. Well made and very informative. Thanks so much for this.

Masterworks might as well just buy B1M and Tomorrow's Build at this point to save marketing $$ 😂

Underwater traveling may be a bright future for Venice!

If they'd designed the systems in the 2000's/10's surely there was enough information available on climate change, and if not, shouldn't they have done some studies? I mean it's a lot of money to spend on an outdated system.

Not mentioned here, is that Venice, the historical city, is competing with a massive port nearby. The modern port facilities are larger than Venice and their users are very powerful people, and organizations. The port would obviously like for traffic to be open at all times.

It's hardly surprising that structures slowly sink when built onto sediments within a lagoon in a seismic zone. Add to this the steady influx of alluvium, the deep dredging to accommodate large ships and the constant thrum of engines that only arrived on the scene less than 100 years ago. It is politically and financially much cheaper to invoke the pernicious effects of 'climate change' rather that tackling the root causes of the destruction of this magnificent city.

I watched a PBS video on the subject that said the cruise ships were an environmental problem. The city was planning on stopping their entrance into Venice.

Fighting flooding in a city built at sea level is literally fighting gravity.

Well done, I live near Venice and you touched every point

Very enjoyable as usual 👍

See, this is why it's a good idea to read the comments sometimes. I hadn't considered the environmental impact. It makes a lot of sense when you think back to the dolphins playing around in the canals during in spring 2020. That's got to be a pretty diverse ecosystem, and one Italy works to maintain, if there are dolphins, and ones that will come so close to people.

I bet those huge cruise ships contribute to the underwater erosion of the foundations . I have seen many of them in Venice right up close to San Marco. The displacement they cause is massive. Good idea about an offshore port with an underwater connection

According to another documentary I watched about this issue is also down to the cruise ships. Venice is not really an ideal location for cruise ships. Not only that but many of the tourists that alight the ships cause a helluva lot more foot traffic, and many of the tourists don't even purchase that much overall from the city

Why don't they seal the lagoon and have one narrower entry/exit that is a giant lock that can group vessels several at a time to let them in and out, like the Panama canal?

I love to see more follow-ups on older video-projects

such a beautiful city - hope they find the best solution...

Years ago, I read an article about Venice, in their wisdom, pumping water out of a fresh water aquifer under the city, causing it to sink. This happened in the 60s, if I remember the article correctly. Anybody else hear of such a thing?

Would it have been cheaper to build a sea wall plus some locks? Cruise ships could dock outside the sea defences if there was a rapid mass transit to transport visitors into the city.

As always, an excellently presented discussion of interesting issues. The state this wonderful old city has found itself in tells us everything about where the world stands, on the verge of collapse.

Only a matter of time before i watch Established Titles videos about this Masterworks deal.

It would be interesting to see you do a video on my favourite hotel in Venice. The close for almost 2 years and renovated the building, but also added flood defences to stop the ground floor flooding. The Gritty Palace is not far from St Marks but is very discrete and off the main drag. great video 2x👍

It is a little irritating to see how many (even experts in their specific fields) fail to appreciate the multidisciplinary nature of the challenge and the risks associated with ANY decision, even the most carefully thought-out. Making references to other places in the world that have to negotiate sea level changes (which can occur for may different reasons) but that have drastically different conditions only gets you so far...Venice has unique challenges and will require uniquely tailored solutions. Now that the MOSE is in operation, it's just false that it's a simply a failure. It's working as expected for the most part. Yes, we all know about the Netherlands, but this is not the Netherlands an thankfully enough people in Venice and Rome understood that.

Love your videos

If there wasn't an essential container port in that lagun I would suggest just sealing it up so it would become a lake, then pumping out water slowly so the city would always be over water. Just an idea though

Fascinating video, never knew the situation was this bad. Regarding pumping water to raise Venice, surely this will cause structural issues, especially in a city where buildings are so old?

As an Italian I’m upset we can’t properly protect one of our most important cities

Various solutions that come to mind to save Venice: 1) Construction of concrete, waterproof pontoons using underwater mining techniques under buildings sitting on petrified wood foundations in Venice. This is a radical solution. The higher the sea levels rise due to global warming, the higher Venice will rise with this measure. However, in this option, the buildings will be disconnected from the foundation and their originality will be partially damaged in this way. 2) Gradually raising the ground by injecting concrete under buildings and under petrified trees in Venice. For this process, it is possible to inject not only concrete but also deeper water. In this way, there will be an opportunity to temporarily save time. And since the buildings are not disconnected from the foundation, there will be no problem of originality. 3) The rise in sea level will be monitored, and the flooded ground floors will be abandoned to the sea, and Venice will be used for accommodation until the 1st and, in time, the 2nd floors are also flooded. Perhaps, 30-40 years later, all of Venice will be under water and Venice will now be an underwater historical asset, limited to diving tourism, to watching from the surface with boats suitable for sub-pancakes. While Venice gradually disappears under water over time, an imitation Venice built on concrete pontoons can be built in the lagoon, similar to the first option suitable for the Venice concept. And in this way, the Venetian spirit is somehow kept alive. In the final analysis, I am absolutely certain of that. Venice will be largely submerged before the end of the century. Historical buildings and everything in them will be destroyed due to the damage of salt water. If no recovery work is done. I am in favor of the first solution that is difficult, expensive and requires technological innovations. I want Venice to be a floating city that will exist for centuries to come, and most importantly, a living city.

building a big gate and then not being able to use it because it's too expensive to operate is just the pinnacle of incompetence bravo

One reason gates are not raised that's not mentioned. The cities sewer system flushes directly into the Canals. Tides are essential to flush the wast out to sea and keep the harbor ECO system healthy..

Great video. Best solution? 1. Remove all bureaucrats from the project. 2. Put engineers and contractors together in the same room. 3. Have it built by the Dutch.

IT IS NOT SINKING,, THIS IS WHY EDUCATION IS SO IMPORTANT.. Water levels are rising..

Old stone looks pretty on the island. They will eventually , upgrade the floaters to be more cheaper to operate.

Also the ecosystem of the lagoon can not survive if the barriers are closed, because stop the exchange of water between the lagoon and the sea.

I would have thought that the cost of operating the barriers would easily be covered by the profits made by local businesses and their exorbitant prices to the tourists.

Those glass walls sounds great in combination with the barriers 🥰

Hi this maybe a stupid quest but with another video of your's they pumped concrete into the walls of a tunnel to strengthen it. Now her is my quest the raising with water may work but what about swapping the water for compressed concrete. It could push the land up with it push any water down the away and harden the ground making it much more stable.

I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to do an IJsselmeer on the whole lagoon? That seems like a much more sensible option than risking structural damage on the entire city by raising it up.

I thought they had problems with too many tourists.. and wanted to charge people to go in and see the city… So I really dont get it why big cruiseships cannot go somewhere else and people can take the train or get to Venice by smaller boat .. I would just seal of the lagoon and make special channels for fishingboats.. industrial can go on smaller transportboats… They need to listen to some Dutch engineers !

I have no idea why, but I haven't seen this channel before but knew exactly what the voiceover would sound like 🤣 awesome as b1m :)

As bad as the sinking is, seeing the city partially submerged is surreal.

They gotta ask The Neatherlands for tips. Their flood engineering and planning is top notch 💕

Maybe Venice should consider engineering a new harbor outside of their barrier islands, then lowering the water level on the inside as the city continues to sink. It would probably be a lot simpler and cheaper than doing what they've been doing.

Thank you

last i've heard was not flood but drought in Venice.. what a surprise

I'm proud to say, that I visited this beautiful city before it'll be sunken

I’m confused. They decided large ocean liners are not to be allowed due to their wake. The barrier has been working. So how many times has it failed to work?

I am happy I visited Venice several times before it was to late.

I'm not a Dutch genius but I can clearly see the barriers only cleared the water by about, two feet. And that's on a day with calm seas and good weather 😂 (From the thumbnail alone)

There actually is an even more ambitious plan to build a damn across the Strait of Gibraltar, which would make it possible to lower the level of the whole Mediterranean. The problem with that is that all countries along the Mediterranean would have to agree about the new sea level of the Mediterranean and the connected Back Sea. That's countries from Spain to Russia and from Morocco to Israel.

Close off the lagoon permenatly, make the locks bigger so they can accomadte fishingboats and build a port outside the lagoon connected by metro or train to the city center to accommodate the cruise ships. This solution will also make the city a bit less popular, so they fix their over tourist problem aswell.

It needs alot of continuous upkeep, special paints , sand blast, salt water is real harsh on the comonents. Then I think it needs regular greasing and swaping old grease out.

Pull up the historical paving stones, dump in a few hundred truckloads of a lighter stone like shale that won't cause too much settling, reset the paving stones a meter higher. The individual buildings can be jacked up.

Can you do a video on the engineering that it would take to "raise" Venice? I'm trying to understand how that would work.

Raising Venice is not feasible at the moment and it is something that has been under consideration for decades, the problem which is not simple, it is not a matter of raising a building but an entire ancient city and Extremely fragile, then the mose was already known at the time that it was not enough but the government of the time (Berlusconi) wanted to do it anyway because it was a pharaonic work. The costs have also risen due to the various bribes taken by politicians including the then president of the Veneto region Galan in addition Piazza San Marco is the lowest point in Venice and therefore the first which widens even with low tides.

Maybe they should have an exterior port outside and then have small transport vehicles that are able to bring things back and maybe they should turn to solar wonder if they can mount solar panels on each one of them three or four and have to run a air pump to fill out them up just have something like a buoy That holds the pipe that sucks in air above and one that blows out water below

Have the billionaires that priced all the residents out of the city pay for it.

Knowing when to turn off the life support system is key. Usually its much sooner than it acually happens. Maybe the time is near.

I was in Venice in 2017. There was some flooding in st.mark’s square. There was a smalll plank to walk along as there was some water in the square. It was a gorgeous town, but very derivative. The same five types of shops repeated. Had the best pizza in Italy, the best spaghetti carbonara I’ve ever had, and and amazing gondola ride. It’s an amazing city that I would forever recommend a visit.

Best way: make pumps under water and when its raining or flooding then use them

Hi the Netherlands here can we help?????

Amazing how money can be a factor for critics. If you want Venice to survive cost is irrelevant. Venice makes money as it stands, if its underwater its makes nothing.

venice 2.0 Patchnotes: * Fewer floods * Houses are no longer supported on several hundred-year-old wood platforms * Tourists visit less frequently

I am glad I had visited Venice

Ngl that sponser placement was aweful

There must be something Italy is doing wrong and Dutch are doing right. Maybe collaborate?

what about adding tunnels under the city or expanding the river deeper in to the country?(the second one might cause floods somewhere else)

Simple thing sometimes are best ones, like WALLS. Close the city and make 2 gates that can lower sea lvl between them for ships!!! At the end it would cost less and do better job then it does now!!! They can even take entrance fee for ships, for maintenance of wall!! Make fancy walls that fits the Venice and you can add another thing on tourist attraction!!! ITS THAT SIMPLE 🙃

The idea is futuristic, the model is still in beta testing, I wonder what the later generations will look like.

so it floods beacause they dont use it when its needed...

you'd think they would devise a system that can dump all of this floodwater out of the city efficiently like the underground flood control system of tokyo does today, some of the chambers in that system are so massive it could house a small city inside it. no matter how soft the foundation level of the city is, eventually you'll hit bedrock. which will be the perfect depth to build such a system, it wont be intrusive on the "aesthetic" that the city seems to care more about than their own lives at this point. also i have to ask, why the fudge is a 7 Billion USD floodgate system still requiring 80 people to manually raise the gates when we are in the age of full automation? there are flood control systems now that barely need anyone on site for standard operations and only need to be there for the routine maintenance. why is this incredibly expensive system already so unbelievably outdated?

As a Dutchman I say: Hold my clogs.

As a young woman, I was intrigued by Venice, but honestly, now when I see people sloshing through the water, it just appears unsanitary to me. I bet that place smells terrible at times.

That art thing sounds like a scam

I'm not going to bet my gelato yet. I can see how I might want to. Thanx 2morrows! ❤

Newsflash for the terminally brainwashed, sea levels aren't rising.

Italy: We've tried everything and we can't keep Venice from flooding! Real solutions cost too much and there is no political will to do what needs to be done! The Netherlands: Hold my beer...

Last I heard, they were still drawing fresh water out of the underground void. Installing a desalination plant so that they can stop drawing water out, and pumping a mixture of solid fill (eg sand) and fresh water back in would make far more sense. If the raft theory is right, it may be possible to raise the ground considerably further than 35cm, if it was done gradually over a long period of time.

Glass barrier is the final boss of mechanical engineering.

It’s Italy, where they criminally prosecuted geologists and gave them 6 years in prison for not predicting the L'Aquila earthquake. You think any team of Italian geologists are going to really take a swing at something as ambitious lifting Venice? As a geologist myself I’d want a BIG paycheck in an offshore account, and a ticket to a non-extradition country in my pocket, before I’d gear-up to take the first core sample.

They should’ve called the experts: the Dutch. And sometimes we as humans need to accept we can’t help but let nature win. So what we lose Venice? Some cities will become legends after all. Look at Ancient Rome